The long-term goal of our research is to identify predictive rules by which gene expression programs are established in an organism and apply them to human disease. It is known that gene expression programs are specified by signal transduction pathways that are activated by signals from neighboring cells during development. How these signal transduction pathways regulate gene expression is highly context-dependent. Based on current knowledge, gene regulation depends on two principles, combinatorial regulation and (epigenetic) cellular memory. We are studying both principles by combining the power of classical Drosophila genetics with that of state-of-the-art genomics techniques.

One of the techniques frequently used in the lab to globally map protein-DNA interactions is ChIP-chip and ChIP-seq analysis. In this technique, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is performed using antibodies against a DNA-binding protein. The DNA to which the protein is bound is then identified by either microarray analysis (chip) or sequencing (seq). For example, we have applied this technique to study the dorso-ventral axis specification in Drosophila, which involves the transcription factors Dorsal, Twist and Snail.